Inhaled iloprost as part of combination therapy for persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

Heru Samudro (the Department of Child Health, Christian University of Indonesia Medical School)
Mulyadi M. Djer (University oflndonesia, Jakarta)

Paediatrica Indonesiana
Vol 52 No 1 (2012): January 2012

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of thenewborn (PPHN) is rare, but life-threatening.If not treated, PPHN may cause respiratoryfailure and death in neonates. l,2,3 PPHNoften occurs in term or post-term infants with a historyof difficult labor, infection or asphyxia during birth.These infants do not have adequate oxygen duringlabor.3 Based on etiology, PPHN can be categorizedinto primary PPHN, which occurs by itself withoutapparent cause; or secondary PPHN, which is causedby meconium aspiration, hyaline membrane disease,neonatal sepsis with pneumonia, congenital heartabnormality, or maternal drug use (non-steroidalanti-inflammatories, methamphetamine, or selectiveserotonin re uptake inhibitors) during the thirdtrimester of pregnancy.